Kyle Buttner
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About me
I'm an American developer based in Europe with a passion for writing clean, well-tested, object-oriented code. For the past two years, I've been working and building things for startups in San Francisco and Washington, DC, and at the beginning of the year I moved to London to formalize my otherwise self-taught coding education at Makers Academy. Now I work as a software developer at Techstars in Berlin.
Skills
Software craftsmanship
I'm a big fan of good engineering and adhering to industry best practice. I test-drive everything, think carefully about design patterns, and refactor constantly. Sandi Metz is always in the back of my mind, keeping my code simple, clean, and OO.
Teamwork
Being part of a team is one of the most exciting parts of developing software. I'm happiest when I'm pair programming, doing standups, and staying late/ordering food with others to finish a release. I'm also a big communicator and enjoy giving and receiving feedback frequently.
Speed
I know what it's like working in a fast-paced, fast-growth environment. I'm pragmatic, a prioritizer, and a master of keyboard shortcuts, so I can turn around and ship quality, working code on short deadlines.
Curiosity
Developing software is really satisfying for my intellectual appetite. There is always something new to learn and no shortage of material to learn it. I've always got several tabs open in my browser with online coding tutorials, and meetups and conferences are my thing (and not just because of the free food).
Projects
| Project | Description | Technologies | Testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspyre (and the API) | A simple, beautiful Chrome extension to help users achieve their long term goals. | Ruby on Rails, AngularJS, PostgreSQL | RSpec, FactoryGirl, Jasmine, Karma, Protractor |
| Apptivist | An app to help activists advertise and organize events. | PostgreSQL, ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS | Jasmine, Karma, Mocha, Protractor |
| Tabled Analytics | A tool for legislative affairs professionals to monitor regulatory activity across Europe. | React, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL | |
| MakersBnb | A simple web app that allows users to list and book spaces | Ruby, Sinatra, PostgreSQL | RSpec, Capybara |
Experience
Techstars — June 2016 to present — Berlin
Software Developer
- Developer-in-residence for 10 startups participating in the Techstars 2016 Berlin accelerator programme
- Worked directly with CTOs and their development teams to provide a wide range of programming support for products at all stages of the development lifecycle
- Built and rebuilt several test-driven client-facing apps in React Rebuilt the front-end of an internal Symfony app in Angular
- Built scrapers to compile data for business development teams to use
FiscalNote — June 2015 to Feb 2016 — Washington, DC
Associate
- Built and deployed a prototype of FiscalNote’s European product using Rails and Angular
- Founded BizDevDevs, a weekly meetup between the Business Development and Engineering teams to work on new company products or side projects
- Assisted with prospecting and closing several high profile and long term sales contracts
UK Trade & Investment — May 2014 to June 2015 — San Francisco
Business Development Associate
- Helped account manage some of the fastest growing software companies in the Bay Area as they looked to enter and grow in the UK market.
- Worked closely with teams across the US and the UK to provide clients with bespoke market intelligence, market entry strategies, connections with UK industry, and access to ministers and officials at all levels of UK government.
- Represented UKTI and the British Government at external functions, building the UKTI brand, and communicating Government positions to tech companies looking to enter the UK and Europe.
Education
Makers Academy — Feb 2016 to May 2016 — London
- Front-end: HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Angular.js, Bootstrap, AJAX
- Back-end: Ruby, Rails, Sinatra, Node.js
- Testing: RSpec, Cucumber, Capybara, Jasmine, Karma, Protractor
- Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, ActiveRecord, DataMapper
- Programming principles: OOP, TDD, SOLID, Agile, XP, Pair-programming
- VCS: Git
University of Pennsylvania — September 2010 to May 2014 — Philadelphia
- BA (Hons) in Economics and Political Science